Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / Jess McClain On Her 2nd-Place NYC Marathon Finish, Landing On the Podium & Finding the Fun

Transcript

Jess McClain On Her 2nd-Place NYC Marathon Finish, Landing On the Podium & Finding the Fun · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now there's like a shift in my mentality of the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: American women contingent is so strong and it's amazing.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: But I'm like, I want top three, like, or bust.
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: What's shaking everyone? Emily Abadi here.
• 0:25
  Speaker 4: You are listening to a special episode of hurdle, a
• 0:29
  Speaker 4: podcast featuring the mindset secrets and true stories of the
• 0:32
  Speaker 4: most inspiring women in sports in wellness, empowering you to
• 0:36
  Speaker 4: live a.
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: Healthier, happier, more motivated life.
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: And of course, conquer your own hurdles. I could not
• 0:44
  Speaker 4: wait for a regular Tuesday to have this conversation, to
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: release it into the feed. I'm popping in, like I said,
• 0:51
  Speaker 4: with an extra special episode with the one and only
• 0:55
  Speaker 4: Jess McClain. She came in second at this year's TCS
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: New York City Marathon. beating out by one second, the
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: reigning champion, Helen O'Berry, and making it onto the podium,
• 1:12
  Speaker 4: the first American to do so since Shalane Flanagan in 2018.
• 1:17
  Speaker 4: We talk about that electric performance in extreme detail in
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: today's episode, unpacking every layer of race day from the
• 1:28
  Speaker 4: the mental gymnastics that went into the first 16 miles
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: when Jess said she wasn't feeling her best, to her
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: bottle and.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: Fuel strategy, and to what was actually going through.
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: Her head in that last crazy minute of the race.
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: We also chat about the two years that she stepped
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: away from running and how reframing her relationship with the
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: sport was truly transformed her into the runner that she
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: is today. Plus what it truly means to bet on
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: yourself when the odds are stacked and how her coach
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: David has completely transformed the way she looks at her training.
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: Make sure you are following along with Hurdle over on social.
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: It's over at Hurdle Podcast. I'm over at Emily Abadi.
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: And you can also follow I Heart Women's Sports over
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: at I Heart Women's Sports. Listen to Hurdle with Emily
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: Abadi over on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: or wherever you get your podcasts.
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: And with that, let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling. today.
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: I am sitting.
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: Down with the one, the only Jess McLean. She's a
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: pro runner for Brooks. She just was the not only
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: top American. I feel like we're going to stop saying that.
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: She just came in second at the New York city marathon.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: My girl.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Hi, how are you? Oh my gosh. So good. I'm
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: so sad. We didn't get to hang out pre-race.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: We're trying to get a bite or coffee and it
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: didn't work out, but this is, I was like, I
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: have to run well so I can debrief it with
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: Emily on the pod. And this is our girl chat
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: and catch up time, but I'm doing so good. Thanks
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: for having me on.
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: Oh my God.
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: I'm like a lead. I'm over the moon for you.
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: Like everyone, I too got the notification in real time.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: I was on the ground, boots on the ground, journalism,
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: cheering at the marathon. So I did not get to
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: watch the stream, but let me tell you when I
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: saw all notifications, hysterics, just like you at the finish line.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: That means a lot. You're the best.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: I love that we got to celebrate and debrief Boston
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and London together.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: And it's a good habit. So let's keep doing it.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: Let's keep doing it. Yeah, exactly.
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: Exactly six months ago, almost, to the date that we
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: were sitting down and debriefing your Boston performance, which actually
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: leads us exactly where I want to start off with
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: you today. One massive marathon PR earlier this year in
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: April in Boston, and now coming to New York and
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: coming in second.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: It's been a big year for Jess McClain.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh. It's been crazy.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: I am definitely tired. Like girly is tired, but in
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: the best possible way, I feel like I, um, I
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: grew a lot this year. I had a lot of fun,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: like being in the arena and putting myself fully in it. Um,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: you know, I've walked away from each race, like a
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: little bit, you know, there's like a split moment from
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: each race where I'm like, dang, if I just went
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: or held on like a little bit harder, um, I
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: had a few of those regrets this year. And with
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: New York, I was like, I just want to have
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: none of those regrets. And I honestly, if I sent
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: it and blew up, I think I would have been,
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to say just as happy because I'm
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: pretty happy right now, but I would have been just
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: as proud, I think, of the effort. So yeah, super
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: fun year. Boston was definitely a really big step forward
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: for me, but I still left that race hungry in
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: a good way. And just stacked a lot of good
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: bricks over the summer in training.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: And it paid off.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: And New York is just a gritty, chaotic, messy, in
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: the best way city. And I love racing in New York.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: You never know what you're going to get, like ever.
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: Like ever.
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: It's crazy to me because I thought about how I
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: even wanted to really start this podcast with you.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: And I just wanted to be sitting down and say,
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: so tell me everything. And I'm like, I don't think...
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: I don't think.
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: That's the appropriate way to really lead into it. I
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: know that we've got to guide this discussion. Speaking of,
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: I didn't want to leave anything on the table. I
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: did listen to the chat that you had with Des
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: and Kara and nobody asked us. And you did answer
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: a question that I had, which was, you were so
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: close to that top spot. So again, recognizing like Des said,
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: that there is an appreciation for the fact that you
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: made history coming in second here. Is there any little
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: ounce of you that wonders, what if I pushed a
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: little bit more?
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: I mean, maybe, but like, I honestly, like I fell
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: off of Helen and Sheila. Like I fell off of
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: their battle and was running with Mercy. And like, even
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: that was, was a tough battle in the moment, like
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: battling for fourth. And she pulled ahead of me at
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: one point and I was in fourth place again. And
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: I was like, for F sake, I'm not getting fourth again.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: So I'm like, I was like in the mentality of
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: battling for third, um, and was just taking the tangents
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: and trying to run smart. And then I just found
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: myself gaining on Sheila and Helen. And then, you know,
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: I was like, Oh my God, like, yeah, let's, let's
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: get third and protect this third place. And then all
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: of a sudden I'm like, holy crap. Like maybe I
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: can get whoever, whoever loses this battle. Cause they were
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: throwing it down for like two miles with each other. Um,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: and that's a lot of energy, like duking it out
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: over those hills and taking the turns wide.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: And it's just, there's so much happening.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh my God, like whoever falls
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: off that, um, you know, maybe out of that battle,
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: maybe they, I mean, I don't know.
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: I've never really been in the battle.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Of winning a world major, but I feel like it
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: would feel pretty like, Oh my God, like I just lost,
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: you know? And I'm like, just try to get as
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: close to them as possible. And maybe we can try to,
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: I don't know, race the person who falls off like
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: the lead. And I just, I don't know. It was
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: like this weird thing. Like each time I like in
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: my head, I was like, okay, third will be fine.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: And like, and then I was like, no, like let's
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: fricking go and like try to really do this thing
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: and bring it home. And I really don't know if
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: I had... Maybe if I really hammered from 600 meters out,
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: but I was working for sure.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: So I don't know. I have no regrets. I'm definitely still...
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: I'm hungry though.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: I'm like, man, it'd be pretty freaking sick to win
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: a world major.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: But they're all so different. If I race a Chicago....
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: It would be really pretty hard to be competitive in
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: the top three at some place like Chicago where women
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: are running men's times. And then Boston, you just never
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: know what you're going to get.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: So I don't know.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: I think maybe now there's a shift in my mentality
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: of the American women contingent is so strong and it's amazing.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: But I'm like, I want top three or bust now.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: And it's just such a fun space to live in
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: for however much longer I have at this stage of
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: my career.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: In the top of the sport. It's crazy, but so fun.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: But yeah, it definitely left me like a teensy bit like,
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: oh man, like what if, but I really don't know
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: what else I could have done. Like, I feel like
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: I ran with a lot of heart and guts the
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: last two miles and that's kind of all you can do.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I don't, who knows.
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: I mean, to say that you ran with a lot
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: of heart and guts is such an understatement. And watching
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: the way that you strided toward the finish was just
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: absolutely stunning.
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: So fun to watch.
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: And one of those moments that truly gets so many
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: people excited about women's running.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: We can't always have moment like that.
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: So for you to be a part of it, it
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: made me giddy for you.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: And it also brings about this question here.
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: You're talking about, okay, I kept thinking like, keep my
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: neck in it, keep my neck in it. You having
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: any amount of mental clarity to be able to think
• 9:43
  Speaker 4: clearly at this point, running 25 plus miles in that
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: last home stretch, that is beyond me, Jess. It makes
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: beginners wonder, is it really that hard for you?
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Oh God, yeah.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: I I think I spent so many miles like trying
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: not to think.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Um, and honestly I, I played like the whack-a-mole game with,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: with negative thoughts that were creeping in, um, a few times.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: Like I didn't feel, I, I wanted a podium day,
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: but I honestly was like, legs don't feel amazing.
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: And I, I came into the race like really calm.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: Like it's a, it's, weird.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: I've usually had this like nervy kind of excited energy
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: starting like five, sometimes even a week out from a
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: world major. And I didn't really like think about the
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: race until the day before it like hit me the
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: day before, um, tech meeting bottle drops, like, you know,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: all that admin check the box stuff that we have
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: to do. It kind of hit me then. And even
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: Connor was like, oh, you're just like very relaxed. Like
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: we were napping a ton and vegging. Like I'm usually
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: not a napper, especially like at world major marathon weekends.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: I'm like out and about. So I just, I don't know.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: I was like, I just, maybe I'm like at the
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: end of my season and I'm just, I'll need to
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: dig deep, but I, I don't know.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: I think I was just banking energy.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: And then it was kind of like a slingshot situation
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: where I was just storing it and then ready to
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: kind of let it go, you know, when it, when
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: the race really picked up, but it was really fun
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: to just be in the lead. And like, I was
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: definitely like tracking Helen the whole time. I'm like, she's
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: somebody that, I mean, Sheila, obviously of course too, but
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Helen O'Berry is somebody where you're like, I've watched Helen
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: on TV and I mean, not ahead of me in
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: world majors.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: Cause up until now, she's been.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Way, way ahead of me, but I'm like, how cool
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: would it be to, be like with her at the end.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: And then I saw myself like stride for stride with her,
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: like at the front of the race so many times.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: And I'm like, this is just, there were a few
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: moments where I'm like, holy shit, this is so cool. Um,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: and just so fun. And I, I used to be
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: so scared of that. And I, I think I'm just
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: having fun, like being in the arena, being a player.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: And, um, yeah, I don't know. It's just, it's really cool.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: And I'm hoping that I can like continue to channel
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: this energy and like this way of thinking and, And
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: especially when things aren't perfect, I think that's like the
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: whole thing of the marathon is, is rallying. Um, and
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: a lot of women in that race rallied, like we
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: had some fueling, you know, I know mercy and, um,
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: waney had some fueling hurdles they had to go over
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: and they fricking battled. Like, I want to watch the
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: race back so bad. And I'm just like, dang, there's
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: so much that was going on. And so many crazy
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: storylines of people really, really like having to, I don't know,
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: just dig deep to get to that finish line. And
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: it's so fun.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: I love the marathon.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: It's so fun. It's so fun.
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: And it's, and it's something obviously that you can relate to.
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: It's so interesting because you talk about the fueling hurdles
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: and you also talk about, uh, that you weren't feeling
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: your best. I believe you said for about the first
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: 16 miles of the race until you got to the
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: Queensborough bridge. Let's talk about the mental gymnastics that happens
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: with something like that because so many other runners can
• 13:02
  Speaker 4: relate to that feeling, can relate to not feeling their best,
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: whether we're talking about just going out for a regular
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: run on a Tuesday morning or showing up to a
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: big moment like this and hoping to meet it. So
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: for you, when you're experiencing that, how you differentiate between
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: this is something that's concerning and I can put my
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: mind to this and I can keep pushing forward?
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: Great question.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of that, like you practice
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: a lot of approaching those mental hurdles in training. And
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: I've had a lot of days, more days than not
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: that have not gone to plan or perfect. And I
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: think it's those days that I have now reframed as
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: the ones that give me more confidence than the days
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: where it's like, oh my gosh, I'm clicking off miles
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: at marathon pace and it's feeling so flow state and easy,
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: as easy as that can be. And I've had more
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: days where it's just like, I just need to get
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: the job done and get the work done and stack
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: this brick.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: And I feel like we all read too.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: Much into those days a little bit. And sometimes we
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: see them as.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: A fail or a day where you.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: Didn't get better. But in my mind, those are the
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: days where you do get better. And I feel like
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: a lot of us that tackle the marathon distance have
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: a lot of other stuff going on in our lives.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: And you have to learn to pivot and adapt and
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: just go with the flow sometimes. So I think I've
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: practiced a lot of thinking.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: In those types of moments.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: And then when it comes to racing, like it's a
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: little bit more automatic, it's obviously tough because you're on
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: a big stage and you know, you're sitting in a
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: tech meeting and the race directors, like there's going to
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: be millions of people between, you know, the fans on
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: the street and the spectators and then the people tuning in.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Like that's a lot of pressure. It's crazy. But like, I,
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I just, um, I don't know.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: There's something that happens when I race now where it's
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: like the blinders are up and I just focus on
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: like what's going on. between my ears, like in my head.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: And I try to just really practice that in training.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: So I think no matter where you're at in your
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: running journey, it's like really practice how you're talking to yourself.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Like not only when you're feeling great, but especially when
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: you're not feeling great and things aren't, you know, perfect,
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: very seldom, are they going to be perfect when you're
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: training for a marathon? So, um, and you hear this too,
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: like you'll, you'll get to the race and then you
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: hear about people like Helen, not having a great buildup
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: and like, everybody's going through something and trying to get
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: over a hurdle of some sort. So, um, just know
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: that too, like you're not alone in the struggle. We're
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: all in the struggle bus when it comes to, when
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: it comes to marathon training for sure.
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: We're all a passenger on the bus.
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: And this brings us to that conversation that you had
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: with yourself that you at one point would have been
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: so scared to be going toe for toe with Helen
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: O'Berry and there you were.
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: So that then beckons the question, Jess, what's changed?
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: Just in general, you mean?
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: I mean, what has enabled you to get past that
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: hurdle of fear?
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: Well, I took a, Two-year hiatus from racing.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: I think I got to a really negative place with
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: racing where I felt like there was so much weight
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: on every single moment in time that I stepped up
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: to a start line and raced. And I think a
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: lot of that was self-inflicted, unfortunately. And it just wasn't fun.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: I wasn't having fun in practice and I wasn't.
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: Obviously not having fun racing. You can't really.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: not enjoy the journey and then get to the moments
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: where you have to test yourself and really put yourself
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: in it and, and have that like steadfast belief in yourself.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: Like I just didn't have that. So I think I
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: needed to take a step away, gain a lot of perspective,
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: hold running and performance and outcomes a little less tight. Um,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: and then just lean on a lot of the things
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: that bring me joy and like make me just outside
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: of running and, And then when I came back to racing, I.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: Just felt like I had a lot.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: I had so much more to gain and win than
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: anything to lose. And I still feel that way. I
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: am very fortunate to have a shoe contract in the
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: support of Brooks and a few of my other sponsors.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: But for the most part, I'm like....
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: I could have gone for it and had to jog
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: it in at like... I don't know. Like 235 pace
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: after sending it. And I still would have... been okay
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: walking away from that race. And I, I think it's
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: just a lot of curiosity, a lot less fear, um,
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: a lot less of feeling shame if things don't go
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: to plan and just figuring out your why, um, is
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: super important. And I didn't really have one for a
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: long time. I think that was a part of the
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: problem too. So yeah, I think it was more just
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: a big perspective shift and then, um, Like at the
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: end of the day, it's running and we all love
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: it so much. It's the best, but it's just running.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: It's like putting one foot in front of the other
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: and getting out there and testing yourself. And I think
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: it's such a beautiful, simple thing, but sometimes we make
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: it out to be something that's just so pressure cooker
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: filled and fun sucking. And it's like, it is the
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: best when you just have the approach of like wanting
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: to get the most out of yourself and the best
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: out of yourself. So I just try to live in
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: that space. And there's a few times where it like,
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: you know, old ways of thinking creep back in. But
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: for the most part, I think I've held on to
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: that approach a little bit more tightly than, yeah, just.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: Like the old way of doing it.
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: The old way.
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: And that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be
• 18:48
  Speaker 4: those moments when things don't go as you'd hoped that
• 18:51
  Speaker 4: you need to digest it. So can you talk to
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: me a little bit about what that process usually looks
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: like for you?
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: Digesting.
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: Like the, when a race doesn't go as you hope
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: that it would go.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: I think.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: It's funny because I, you know, I have a few
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: races where this year where I'm like, man, like with Boston,
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: I'm like, dang, I wish I went right after heartbreak
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Sharon threw down. I think there was like a four
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: 40 something mile. And I just made the split decision
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: so quickly to.
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: Be like, you know what? I think I'm okay.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: Hanging back at like five flat pace, which sounds insane
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: when I say it out loud. But part of me
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: is like, dang, I wish I went. I just wonder
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: what would have happened. And then there was a moment
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: in Copenhagen where I just made a split decision to
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: go through an aid station and nobody else in the
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: front pack did. So then I found myself in no
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: man's land. And I'm like, dang, what would have happened
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: if I just like held onto that pack? Didn't like
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: skip that gel and just rode the train. Um, but it,
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: I don't know, like I haven't knock on wood, had
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: a race where like fueling went awry or something really
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: went wrong or I fully have blown up. But I
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: think I've had a lot of practice now trying to
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: take learnings away from, from races and And I race
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: so frequently. I race so much now. I think I
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: race like eight or 10 times a year to where
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: I just know every single one's not going to go.
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: It's not going to be like an A plus day
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: every time and that's okay. So yeah, I think it's
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: just a balance of trying to figure out what you
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: can learn from something and having other buckets. So then
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: when something doesn't go to plan or how you wanted
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: it to.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: You digest it. I'm always like, feel bad for yourself
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: for 24 hours. That's fine. Do whatever you need to do.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: And then like, move on. Like I just, I move on.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: I go to work.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: I hang out with my friends. I hang with my
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: dogs and my husband. And I just am like, you
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: know what? I still have all this.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: It's fine.
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: And you can learn so much more from the races
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: and workouts that don't go, um, a hundred percent to
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: plan than the races where everything goes perfect, you know?
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: So it's like, Um, like, yeah, like New York, I'm like,
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: I don't have many takeaways from that other than, you know, like, yay. I,
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: I know I can trust myself and like my instincts. And, um,
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: I know that I can't judge every mile, you know,
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: like just take each mile for what it is and
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: don't know, like, don't freak out about what might be
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: on the other side of the mile that you're in,
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: because honestly, in the marathon, you go through so many waves,
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: but I probably took more learnings away from Copenhagen and Boston.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: Um, than New York, like honestly.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: And that's just bringing up such an important point, Jess,
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: that we lose sight of when we're in the moment
• 21:37
  Speaker 4: when things aren't going as we'd hoped.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: We learn from those hurdles.
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: We learn from those moments when we get what we're after.
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: It's exciting, sure.
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: And like, I loved, I would watch you every morning
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: to get those chills, but you didn't walk away.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: Thinking, wow, I have, I don't know.
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: Like we love nice things and we do learn from
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: our difficult moments.
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah. A hundred percent. And like, same with life too.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: I think I've learned so much from running, uh, more
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: than I thought I did when, like, especially when I
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: stepped away from the sport and worked in corporate America
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: and like just had to be a normal person. I'm like, dang, I,
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: there are so many just life lessons from running that
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: I learned just from being an athlete.
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: Um, Like what? Hit me with one.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: I mean, I think a lot of it is long
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: game stuff. It takes a long time to get good
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: at something and to become an expert. And I think
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: that instant gratification and that kind of vibe that we
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: all live in right now where we just... you see
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: overnight success stories and, you know, you can frigging DoorDash
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: and Amazon things and they show up within an hour
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: or two. Now it's like, you're just so used to
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: things happening fast. And I think with me, I've, I've
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: learned that good things take time. Um, obviously learning how
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: to be on a team when you have a team
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: comprised of very different people with different ways of doing
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: things and different ways of thinking and Um, and I
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: worked for a few companies where I'm like, wow, I
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: couldn't be more different than my coworkers, but you know what,
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: I'm going to figure out how to work with them and,
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: and be a good teammate. And, um, yeah, I don't know,
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: just a, a few, just things like that, I guess. Um,
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: and that the hard moments, you know, are hard, but the,
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: the peaks feel a lot.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: Better because you, you spend time in the suck and it's,
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: it's okay. And, Same with you.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: It's like starting a business is crazy and being like
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: an entrepreneur is a wild ride. And Connor and I have,
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: you know, he started his own business and we've gone
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: through that with him. And I don't know, just being
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: an athlete is like, it's such a cool, it's a
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: cool skill set to have. And I don't think you
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: know everything that's in your toolbox until you're like forced
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: to kind of, you know, open it up and try
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: to see like what tool is going to help the
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: situation that you're in. and help you navigate it. But yeah,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: that was a really cool just like thing to, to
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: figure out when I left, yeeted it from this whole
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: world for a little bit.
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: Now you mentioned running something like eight to 10 races
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: per year. I'm sure there are people listening to this
• 24:40
  Speaker 4: right now that are struggling to get to the starting
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: line of just one, whether that's a mental thing, whether
• 24:45
  Speaker 4: that's an injury thing.
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: So tell us about the sauce.
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: Tell us about what it is that you do to
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: help stave off an injury and show up how you
• 24:53
  Speaker 4: want to show up throughout your competition schedule.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: That is a great question. I save a lot of
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: my home run attempts for racing. Like I don't, I
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: don't go all gas in workouts. Very rarely am I
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: doubled over or splayed out on the road or track.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: I truly am hitting singles, doubles, occasional triples in workouts
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: and training and barely ever hitting a home run.
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: I take a full day off a week. I know
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: a lot of athletes are different.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: Some need one every 10 days, every two weeks. I
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: take one every week just with overall life stress and
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: things that I'm doing. I do one workout a week
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: and run one really hard long run effort a week
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: with a workout usually in it. And I just am
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: smart with like my easy days and I fuel a
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: shit ton.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: I eat a lot, like a lot, a lot.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: And I love that because I love food and I
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: love feeling good and strong.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: What's your sleep like, Jess? Not great. Really?
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: Tell me more.
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: Sleep hygiene is not the best, to be honest. I
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: struggle with sleep. I'll go through weeks of having great
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: sleep and then weeks of not sleeping very well. I
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: think sleep is the place where if I have things
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: going on, typically in my personal life and stuff, that's
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: where it all hits me.
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: It used to be in running.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Honestly, I used to Um, like it would affect my
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: training if I was going through something or usually running
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: was a thing that was not going well. So then,
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: you know, sleep was not going well because running wasn't
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: going well and I was thinking about it. So yeah,
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: I think sleep is something that I continue to try to,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: you know, figure out on my end, but I can
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: function off of like six hours a night pretty well. So, um, honestly,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: before New York, I was crushing sleep. Same when I
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: got to altitude this summer, I did. But when I'm
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: training here in the summer.
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: It's so hard.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: I try to get to bed by 8 or 9,
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: but I'm up at 4 a.m., sometimes 3.50 before long
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: runs in the summer. So I try not to put
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: too much thought into it. That's actually one thing David
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: and I text about. If I'm ever freaking out before
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: a race, it's because of sleep. Copenhagen was a mess.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: I didn't sleep more than four or five hours a
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: night for about five or six nights straight like my.
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: But you had cardamom buns so it's like yeah it
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: all leveled.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: Out yeah it was fine but like all my like
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: sleep metrics were like in the red like um high
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: alert on like health you know like watch out you
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: know I was just getting all these alerts I'm like
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: I need.
• 27:38
  Speaker 4: To This is interesting though, because I would almost assume
• 27:42
  Speaker 4: that an athlete like you might not want the extra
• 27:47
  Speaker 4: data knowing that sleep isn't your superpower.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: No, usually I don't. I don't know why.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: I usually turn all that off. I'm not a big
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: data person. I don't wear a heart rate monitor. I
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: pretty much only use my Garmin for like workout metrics
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: and run metrics. Like I don't do anything else. So yeah,
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: I try to just if I need to turn it off,
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: I just turn it off. But yeah, sleep is something
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: I continue to work on. Um, but yeah, for the
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: most part, I just, I recover really well. I, I
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: train hard two days a week and maybe like have
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: one or two other days that are pretty good, just
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: steady efforts. And then racing is where I like, I
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: get so excited to like full send it and races.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: And, um, so yeah, I don't know, maybe try that.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: Like if you're out there and you're, I mean, obviously
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: do what's best for you and your work life, you know,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: family schedule and everything. But I think the more you race,
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: the more you just, you like strengthen that muscle. And, um,
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: cause racing can be nerve wracking. You're putting yourself out
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: there and it's, it's vulnerable and you're, you know, it's
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: going to hurt.
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: I think that's the thing.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: Everybody, everybody who's towing a line is like, this is
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: going to hurt so bad. And the pros feel that way.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: Everybody feels that way. And it's a nerve wracking thing.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: But I think the more you can race, um, the more, um,
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: it just becomes more fun each time. And you're like,
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: you just know you're going to get the best out
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: of yourself and it's going to hurt doing it, but
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: it's like the best kind of hurt, you know?
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 29:16
  Speaker 4: I really appreciate this perspective because it's one that comes
• 29:19
  Speaker 4: with experience. It's not something that you just, like you said,
• 29:23
  Speaker 4: just like you're not an overnight sensation or you're not
• 29:26
  Speaker 4: someone that is successful overnight. You don't gain these kinds
• 29:30
  Speaker 4: of takeaways overnight. So you've put in the reps to
• 29:33
  Speaker 4: learn what works for you, what works for your body.
• 29:36
  Speaker 4: And I think that's a really, really important takeaway. You
• 29:40
  Speaker 4: highlighted that you just absolutely love eating. So we need
• 29:45
  Speaker 4: to know, although it's probably not as exciting as the
• 29:48
  Speaker 4: cardamom buns, what was in your bottles on race day?
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, what was I? Oh, my bottles.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: I honestly just went for gels for the most part
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: this time, which was a little different. Yeah, usually I'll
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: do like some bottles. I'll alternate between, you know, bottles
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: with water that has a gel attached to it or
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: gels attached to.
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: A bottle with carb mix.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: And I know like, hey, this bottle, I can get
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: half my gel, half my bottle down and I'm kind
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: of mixing. This time I put pretty much like, mostly
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: all water. I put a little sprinkle of carb mix
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: in there. It actually helps me digest to have a
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: little bit more than just water. But I got every
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: single gel down, which for me.
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: Is pretty good.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: Usually I'm ditching some of them because I'm like, you're
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: just not wanting another.
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: Gel at some stations. It's just a lot.
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: But the fueling felt... I crushed the fueling this time.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: I felt really good about it. The gels went down
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: super easy. And it's one of those things where it's like,
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: not every time does it happen that way, but I was.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: Very happy that it did.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I just did gels for the most part
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: with a little bit of mostly water and then a
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: touch of carb mix in there.
• 31:03
  Speaker 4: In a 224-42 marathon, how many gels are you taking?
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: I took seven.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: And then I had an extra one on my person
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: tucked away in my pants because I dropped a bottle
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: in Boston and I'm like, if I drop a bottle,
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: I'm not going back for it. I'm just going to
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: have an emergency gel just in case. But yeah, we
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: had seven aid stations. I think in Boston we had eight. Um,
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: but what happened though is like, there's this one park
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: we go around, um, right after we come out of
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: the Bronx before we go up fifth.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: There's that little park in Harlem.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: Technically there was a bottle station that was supposed to
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: be at 35 K like right before that, but it came.
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: At 36 K after that. Cause it's just easier logistically.
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: So yeah, That one was like a little bit further
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: along than, you know, a typical course where we would
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: have one at 35K and then 40K. So my last
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: bottle was 36K and we had seven.
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: So.
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 31:58
  Speaker 4: This is also highlighting that there are going to be
• 32:00
  Speaker 4: things that are beyond your control in the race, obviously,
• 32:03
  Speaker 4: in this moment. It's like you're expecting this to be
• 32:05
  Speaker 4: at 35K. It's not there. It's at 36. Other things
• 32:09
  Speaker 4: that we can highlight that fall into this category may
• 32:12
  Speaker 4: be weather, maybe something that one of your competitors do.
• 32:17
  Speaker 3: Obviously, all of these are.
• 32:18
  Speaker 4: varying degrees of concerning. How do you manage to react
• 32:23
  Speaker 4: to these things? Or maybe actually the question is respond
• 32:27
  Speaker 4: instead of react to these things and control your emotions
• 32:31
  Speaker 4: in the moment.
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: Another good question. I think all you can control are
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: the things you can control.
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: So like how you adapt to something, how you think
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: about something. The weather is something I used to stress
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: out about. I mean, I'm picking marathons like Boston and
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: New York where you just never know what you're going
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: to get.
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: Chicago is that way too.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: Most marathons, I feel like it's kind of a toss-up,
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: to be honest. Some of the ones I've run before
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: the majors were in the summer and could be super hot.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: So I think with weather, it's like know what the
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: possibilities are. If it could be hot, get in the
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: sauna about 10 days out and do some heat training
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: and If it could be wet and cold, make sure
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: you have the right equipment and apparel to make the
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: first few miles and just stay warm, make them feel
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: a little bit better. Wind is one element that I
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: hate with a passion. Copenhagen, the wind was awful. Was
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: it gnarly?
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: It was so bad. It was so bad. And I
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: was by myself.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: So I just had to be so mentally.
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: strong during Copenhagen.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: I was just seeing the pack like packed up ahead
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: of me. And I'm like by myself, just like spit
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: getting like blowing out of my mouth sideways. Cause it
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: was so strong on some straights. And I'm like, Oh
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: my God, this just sucks. Um, but it's like the
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: way it is what it is. Like everybody's going through
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: the weather. Um, and honestly, St. Louis, the Olympic trials
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: are in St. Louis in 2028. And I have a
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: very good friend that lives there. And she's like, It
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: could be hot and humid. It could be snowing or
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: sleeting and raining, sideways wind. You just don't know what
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: you're going to get. So I don't stress about weather.
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I'll just adapt to it and bring the
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: stuff that I need to make it as manageable as possible.
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: But in terms of things that happen on course, and
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: this I think typically is more for wave one and back.
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: There's so many things that you can't control. The crowds
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: are crazy. you can't run tangents most of the time.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: Like you're just running where you have space and there
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: you're grabbing waters and people are throwing, like I see
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: photos and I'm like, how are people running so fast
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: when they're dodging? Like, I don't know, like 800 meters
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: of water cups and slick roads.
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: And it's, it's amazing.
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: And I just, I think you, again, it's like in training,
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: you really have to talk, practice how you talk to
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: yourself when things creep up that you didn't plan for. Um,
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: and just adjust and adapt in the moment. And then
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: don't stress about things that can happen that haven't happened yet.
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: I was the worst at that, putting myself through something
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: twice or putting myself through something that was never going
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: to happen.
• 35:13
  Speaker 4: Which is interesting because there's so many schools of thoughts
• 35:15
  Speaker 4: about imagining both the best case scenario and the worst
• 35:17
  Speaker 4: case scenario.
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I was always imagining the worst case scenarios, unfortunately.
• 35:21
  Speaker 4: But were you imagining the worst case scenario so much
• 35:23
  Speaker 4: that you weren't allowing yourself to think about the best?
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe a little bit.
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: Maybe I was always a little more scared to fail
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: and the things that could go wrong than more excited
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: about everything that could go right. And I'm not quite
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: sure what that.
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: I've done therapy and all that. I'm still unpacking why
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: I was that way.
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: But I think.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: I've been a person that just likes to control things.
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: Like I like things to happen in the way I
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: want them to happen. And with running, you just can't
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: do that. Um, it's so unpredictable. And I think that's
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: part of the reason why I hated it for a while.
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: And now it's like the reason why I love it.
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: That's why I love the marathon. And I think that's
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: the reason I fell out of love with the track
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: for a long time, because it's, it's just like, Hey,
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: we're going to run this 10 K and it's going
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: to be rabbited to 31, you know, flat.
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: And like, it's just, I.
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: Love the chaos of the marathon. I truly do. And
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: it's so fun. And I love running fast on the
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: track too. And I, you know, Chicago, it's like, it
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: excites me to run really fast, but for some reason
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: I'm just like, so pulled towards the races where you're
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: purely racing, like it's racing and I, I love racing.
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I don't know. We'll see.
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: Um, it'd be really fun to run fast. Like after
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: seeing Emma Grace, I'm like, damn, she inspired me so much.
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: I'm like, she frigging crushed that debut. Um, and I
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: know like Waney, had she not had her, um, you know,
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: fueling issues, I think she would have been right there
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: with me, like throwing down.
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: So it's yeah. Racing's so fun.
• 37:06
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, seventh for a debut isn't all that
• 37:10
  Speaker 4: bad for Winnie. Yeah, and I mean, speaking of debuts,
• 37:13
  Speaker 4: people watching you run this marathon, catching the running bug themselves,
• 37:19
  Speaker 4: as so many people have over the last few years
• 37:21
  Speaker 4: with this running boom.
• 37:23
  Speaker 3: You have run.
• 37:25
  Speaker 4: many, many races now. You've been doing this for quite
• 37:28
  Speaker 4: some time. So tell them, Jess, what do you think
• 37:31
  Speaker 4: is the single biggest mistake that someone could be making
• 37:36
  Speaker 4: at the beginning of this journey?
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: Man, I would say, honestly, not listening to your body
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: is one. I have a few people in my life
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: that just started running and they're like, I just, I'm
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: not a runner if I can't run like X amount
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: of miles in a row. And I'm like, you can
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: literally start walk jogging for like weeks until that becomes
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: a little bit easier. And then you're, you know, you're
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: walking three minutes, you're running three minutes and then walking
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: one minute instead of doing one here and one there,
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: like you can really take your time building into it.
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: And I think, um, it's hard to speak on this,
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: you know, as somebody who's been running for over 20 years,
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: like I know my body really well and it takes
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: time to understand your body, but I think really giving
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: yourself grace, um, you know, finding a coach or like
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: someone to guide you, or maybe like a really reputable,
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: like good online program is totally fine. But I think you're,
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: you're a runner no matter what it looks like when
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: you get started. And you there's so many different ways
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: to dip your toe into it. Like you can start
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: with a local 5k turkey trot seasons coming up, you know,
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: like start there, work your way up. I think a
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: lot of people, which I love and respect, like want
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: to just full send it and go marathon like right away.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: But I think there's so many fun ways to like
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: build to that point. Um, yeah. And then I would
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: say find a really good group of buddies, like somebody
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: to help you get out the door and get excited
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: about it a few times a week. Um, especially living
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: in Arizona, like my, my friends and my training partners,
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: like get me excited for my workouts in the summer
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: when not much would, you know, like at 4am.
• 39:16
  Speaker 2: When it's 95 degrees.
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: So yeah, suffer in numbers, find some, find some good
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: friends and some suffer buddies that make it fun and.
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: Just enjoy it.
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: Enjoy moving your body and being unplugged and being out
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: in the world with fun people and give yourself some
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: grace for sure.
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: For sure.
• 39:38
  Speaker 4: Speaking of good buddies, although Connor might not be your
• 39:41
  Speaker 4: training buddy, he is your life buddy. Watching the videos
• 39:46
  Speaker 4: of Connor at the finish line literally just brought... the
• 39:50
  Speaker 4: most joy and the, he's about to have sponsorships, him
• 39:54
  Speaker 4: and his cute little Sidious marathon hat.
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: This man is ready. You are ready.
• 39:58
  Speaker 4: How does it feel to have such a supportive partner
• 40:02
  Speaker 4: and what role does that play in your success?
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: Honestly, I think Connor's one of the main reasons I'm,
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: I'm here and I'm doing this.
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: Uh, we met when I was down and out.
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: Like I was, um, yeah, I wasn't just the runner,
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: the racer, the, I was kind of at an all-time low.
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: And for some reason, he wanted to take me on
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: a date, which yay for me. But it was just
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: really cool to have somebody come into my life and
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: know me as Jess, not just the runner, but Jess
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: for everything else I was at the time. And then
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: when I was getting back into it, it felt like
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: an us thing and not a me thing. It was
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: kind of a me thing for a really long time.
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: And he was just so supportive and was like so
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: excited every time I wanted to put myself out there
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: and line up and race. And the Olympic trials was
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: like so special because I went into that and I'm like,
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: you know what, this is going to be the perfect
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: way to end like the racing chapter of my life.
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: Like I want to move on and like find the
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: next thing.
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: And he made that whole buildup like so fun that I,
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: I got to Orlando and, And I had the most
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: fun missing an Olympic team by 15 seconds that I
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: think anybody would have ever had. Like I just had
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: so much fun and I crossed the finish line and
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: I found him and I'm like, I don't want to
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: stop running. And he's like, why would you stop running?
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: He's like, you're having the time of your life. Like,
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: let's do this. And it just, it's felt like a
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: total team effort. And he's come to every single race
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: and not because I'm like, I need him there. And like,
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: he wants to, he wants to show up and like
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: be there all in with me. And it's just, it's
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: really cool. And every single time I've crossed the finish line,
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: I'm like, how did you get, who let you in here?
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: Like in Boston, I was just like, okay, I got fifth.
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: I mean, yes, if you get top American, it is
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: very cool. They like let somebody in your camp in,
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: which is very, very special.
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: But I Um, I don't know.
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: He's like the first person I want to see when
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: I cross the finish line and it's, it's very special.
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: And he is just Connor. Like he, I'm.
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: Like, Bernard, why did you give him, why would on
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: earth would you Connor up the end of my race?
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: I'm like, that is, I'm like, oh my God, I
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: don't want to know what the, the full, you know,
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: like audio, what went down, but it's perfect.
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: I'm like, he will.
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: Always unapologetically be himself. And I think that's why I
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: love him. And that's why people who are in the
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: world of like marathoning have come to know and love him.
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: And he's just a, he's the best. So yeah.
• 42:48
  Speaker 4: I mean, it's such a special relationship and it's truly
• 42:51
  Speaker 4: like such goals. I mean, to have Connor make a
• 42:54
  Speaker 4: solid effort to wingman for me in London, I have
• 42:58
  Speaker 4: nothing but forever adoration.
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: I think if he didn't indulge in as many drinks
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: as he did, it probably would have been more successful.
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: But it's okay. We listen and we don't.
• 43:10
  Speaker 2: Judge is what happens. I think wingman lost sight of
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: the mission, but it happens. Yeah.
• 43:16
  Speaker 3: It's okay, buddy. I completely, I completely forgive you.
• 43:20
  Speaker 4: So now we need to go back to those final
• 43:23
  Speaker 4: moments of the marathon on Sunday. I need to know
• 43:27
  Speaker 4: if you can even truly remember what was going through
• 43:31
  Speaker 4: your mind when you actually crossed that line. We see
• 43:34
  Speaker 4: you like break down and you're just like trying to
• 43:38
  Speaker 4: gain your composure. You finally drop your sunglasses on the ground.
• 43:41
  Speaker 4: Thank God.
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: Oh my God.
• 43:45
  Speaker 3: So what was going.
• 43:46
  Speaker 2: On, Jess?
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: I think it was like, oh man, it was like
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: a full moment of, it's like the first time I've
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: visualized something and it actually happened. So I think, um,
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: like I've, for some reason I've just visualized like coming
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: down that 400 meter stretch and cause at New York
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: in the last like 800 meters in the marathon, they
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: have 200 markers. And it's just so interesting being a,
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: you know, coming off the track as a track athlete,
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: like seeing an 800 meter to go, seeing a 400,
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: seeing a 200.
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: And I just, I don't know.
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: I've run that stretch so many times, like running through
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: central park for fun, running in the Abbott dash, like
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: cooling down during the mini 10 K. And I, it's
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: just like engraved in my mind. And I just honestly
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: like visualize that stretch so many times. And for some
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: reason I was like visualizing being like in the vicinity
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: of Helen and And I'm like, Oh my gosh, how
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: sick would it be if I'm like stride for stride
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: with Helen O'Berry or, you know, she like any of
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: these amazing women. And so I think I just, I
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: didn't think I was out of it ever, which is interesting.
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: Cause I, you know, you see how crazy back and
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: forth Sheila and Helen were going and we'd made the
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: final turn into central park off central park West. And
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: I took it so tight and I just felt like
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: I was gaining like every step I was gaining on them.
• 45:11
  Speaker 2: Dog barking on brand for me. Um, and then I just, yeah,
• 45:16
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I just felt so good.
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: And I've been doing tons of 200 meters, like reps
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: at the end of a ton of work and Hey,
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: stop it. Oh my gosh.
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: I'm so sorry.
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: No, you're fired.
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: And then I feel like before the finish line, I'm like, okay,
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: like let's, I'm getting third.
• 45:37
  Speaker 2: This is sick.
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: And I, I like took my sunglasses off cause they,
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: it's the first time I wore like wraparound sunglasses. So
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: I wasn't like fully, I couldn't like fully see everything.
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: So I'm like, Oh my God, I'm going to take
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: these off and like just soak it in. And then
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: I was like, Oh shit. Like I think I can
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: get second. So I just like, I kind of put
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: my Dakota propane caught the moment where I like, I
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: pumped my arm in the air, like with, I don't know,
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: 50 meters to go.
• 46:02
  Speaker 2: And I'm like, yay.
• 46:02
  Speaker 3: Third.
• 46:03
  Speaker 2: This is so fun.
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: And then I was like, Oh my God, I think
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: I could get Helen. And I just like, I don't know.
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: I just like hammered home a little bit more. And
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: it was just like the sickest feeling to feel that good.
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: And I felt, I felt like how I looked in
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: those photos. Like I look back at those photos and
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: I was like, Holy crap. I felt like I was
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: on the track, like exactly how I visualized it. And
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: those like 200 meter reps that I've been doing, how
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: I visualized it, you know, the last months working on
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: a Lake Mary and Flagstaff and all these places and
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: And it was just really cool. And then I think
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: when I got to the finish line, it was just
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: like a wow. I finally have the flag drape moment.
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: I think I've just been so close to that and really,
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: really wanted it and worked so hard for it.
• 46:48
  Speaker 2: So I think it just kind of everything hit me
• 46:50
  Speaker 2: in that moment.
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: And I think I was just overwhelmed, but in a
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: really good way.
• 47:09
  Speaker 4: And to feel so confident, like I have the opportunity
• 47:14
  Speaker 4: to do this and I am entirely capable is it shows.
• 47:19
  Speaker 3: That you believe in the evidence. And I think that's
• 47:21
  Speaker 3: something that a lot of folks don't.
• 47:24
  Speaker 4: Struggle with when it comes to going after their big goals,
• 47:27
  Speaker 4: especially reacting in the moment. It's like you trust your training.
• 47:33
  Speaker 4: You know what you're capable of. And that is so impressive, Jess.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: It's so fun to like, well, thank you, first of all.
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: But it's really.
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: Fun to have the confidence that I didn't have for
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: a long time.
• 47:45
  Speaker 2: And I think it's validating. The word validating isn't the
• 47:50
  Speaker 2: right word.
• 47:51
  Speaker 4: But Um, I do think it's validating. I also think
• 47:55
  Speaker 4: it's rewarding to.
• 47:56
  Speaker 3: Be in this place.
• 47:57
  Speaker 2: It is. It's so fun. I think I just, um,
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: I worked really, really hard for so long.
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: And I think you don't, it's not that I don't,
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: I don't deserve that moment more than anybody else, but
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: I think every athlete is like, you just, you work
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: so hard for those moments for it to come together.
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: And I've had so much fun watching it come together
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: for other people like Emsis and podiuming.
• 48:22
  Speaker 2: Um, Dakota making that Olympic team right ahead of me.
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: Like I, I finally got to a point in my career,
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: the second go around where I, the success of others
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: like has inspired me instead of like feeling like a
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: threat to my personal success. Like it has fully lifted
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: me up and I just, it was cool to have
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: that moment for me finally, because I just, I never like,
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I might not get that and that's okay. Um,
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: but it was cool for it to come together and,
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: you know, for David and like my, the people in
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: my corner, um, it was really cool to share that
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: with them. There are other, like they were there at
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: the finish line. I'm like, how did David and Megan
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: and Rachel Rudall was in, in the shoot too. And Connor, um,
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: and my dad. And I'm like, how, how on earth
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: did you all get in here? But this is like
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: so special. It was just, it's a moment I'm going.
• 49:12
  Speaker 2: To remember forever.
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: It tops pretty much everything else that, you know, I
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: thought was going to be hard to top. And, I'm
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: just very... I'm trying to like really enjoy it. Cause
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: I know like the world keeps spinning and we all
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: move on to the next thing. And I'm just like
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: trying to sit in it for a little bit longer. Um,
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: but I'm also excited for like everything else now. Like,
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: I think it's left me hungry enough to be really
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: excited for world majors next year, the Olympic trials in
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: a year and a half. And like, a few other
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: goals that I have, but trying to live, live in
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: it for just a second.
• 49:43
  Speaker 4: Um, yeah, you're allowed to, and you should, you don't
• 49:49
  Speaker 4: work this hard not to relish in this accomplishment.
• 49:51
  Speaker 3: I think that's something else that so many struggled with.
• 49:54
  Speaker 3: It's right. It's always like, what's next, what's next, what's next.
• 49:57
  Speaker 4: And although like we can sit here and I can
• 50:00
  Speaker 4: ask you about what you're excited about.
• 50:01
  Speaker 3: And I know it's the things that you just referenced.
• 50:04
  Speaker 4: It's like, okay, but also let's just celebrate this moment
• 50:08
  Speaker 4: for a while longer.
• 50:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: That's the plan for sure. I'm definitely excited for that
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: first run back. Like once the body fully comes around,
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: I think when does that happen? Um, it's usually, I
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: actually have my log up right now.
• 50:19
  Speaker 3: Let's look, um, take a look.
• 50:22
  Speaker 2: It'll be, I think next Tuesday.
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: So yeah, that's actually a little bit longer than I
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: usually wait, but, um, that's kind of usually when I deep,
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: like in my head, that's, that's the moment.
• 50:33
  Speaker 2: I really like debrief and think through it all.
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: Like put my favorite playlist on and I just kind
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: of vibe and whatever the body feels like running. I just,
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: you know, just kind of think through it all. Um,
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: and then, yeah, I'm sure I'll try to figure out
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: what's next, but for the moment it's getting back on
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: my feet.
• 50:51
  Speaker 3: Um, some good food, good drinks. And then, and Gavin DeGraw,
• 50:55
  Speaker 3: big work.
• 50:56
  Speaker 2: Event this weekend.
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: So I'm in the thick of like full event planning
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: mode for the nonprofit that I work for. So that's
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: super exciting. But yeah, well, just some work and a
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: lot of play for sure.
• 51:10
  Speaker 4: You mentioned your coach, David, and I do want to
• 51:13
  Speaker 4: just double click on that for a second because I
• 51:15
  Speaker 4: know that that relationship and working with him has been
• 51:18
  Speaker 4: really instrumental in the success that you've seen as of late.
• 51:22
  Speaker 4: Talk to me about what it's like to have someone
• 51:25
  Speaker 4: that supports you in this way and what it is
• 51:27
  Speaker 4: about his coaching style that really works for you.
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: David has been like such a, just like bright light in,
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: in all.
• 51:36
  Speaker 2: Of this for me.
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: I sent him a DM two years ago, like literally
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: probably from today after New York.
• 51:44
  Speaker 2: And I was just like, Hey, shot in the dark.
• 51:46
  Speaker 2: I'm Jess.
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: I've been following you for a minute and I need help.
• 51:52
  Speaker 2: I'm like, I'm like, we have no idea what we're doing.
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: I was coaching myself. And it was kind of more
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: of like a fact-finding mission. Like I'm like, I just
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: love to talk to you and chat on the phone.
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: So I ended up sending him like, you know, what
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: I had done in training up until that point. And
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: he's like, okay, like I'll just write in some suggestions,
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: like take it or leave it, no stress. And then
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: I just ended up like loving what he was putting down.
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: And I'm like, hey, why don't we just like give
• 52:19
  Speaker 1: this a shot and work together? And it's just been
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: a very... collaborative process. And he obviously his wife, Megan
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: is amazing and, um, is really great working with female athletes.
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: So I think she's informed a lot of what I've
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: been doing too. So it's just been, it's been awesome. He,
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: you know, I would say like 80% to 85% gives
• 52:41
  Speaker 1: me training that gives me a lot of confidence.
• 52:44
  Speaker 2: It's in my wheelhouse. And then there's like.
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: 10 to 15% of things that are really hard for me,
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: but like make me a better athlete. But overall he's like,
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: Just keep being Jess. Not once has he made me
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: feel stressed or bad about having a job, about having
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: a friend's wedding, about wanting to prioritize family stuff, friend stuff.
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: It's just a very natural, easy working relationship. And he
• 53:09
  Speaker 1: just is so additive. So it's been really fun. And
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: it's been very cool to see him have so much
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: success on the roads.
• 53:17
  Speaker 2: It's crazy. From.
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: Emily Venters to Amanda Vestry to, I mean, Alio is
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: just freaking crushed it. Um, you know, like all these
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: athletes are just having the time of their life. And
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: I think that's, that says more than like what the
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: time on paper and like results say, in my opinion,
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: I think just how, how they're talking about their process
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: and their journeys right now is, is very, um, it's
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: a testament to David and Megan, honestly. So I'm just
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: very honored to work with them and that they, yeah,
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: took me in when I needed, I needed a lot.
• 53:51
  Speaker 2: Of help and guidance.
• 53:52
  Speaker 4: Took you under your wing, under his wing. I also
• 53:55
  Speaker 4: just really appreciate that his focus is so much of
• 53:59
  Speaker 4: the same as what yours is, which is that I
• 54:02
  Speaker 4: want to find the fun. I want to keep it
• 54:04
  Speaker 4: dialed in on what feels good for Jess. And that
• 54:08
  Speaker 4: is just, again, such a true testament to who it
• 54:12
  Speaker 4: is that you are, who you want to surround yourself
• 54:14
  Speaker 4: with and what it is that your mission is right now.
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I think it's really big who you choose to
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: surround yourself with. And I think in this second win
• 54:27
  Speaker 1: that I've gotten, I'm like, I really want to be
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: mindful of who I work with and really protect the
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: energy that I worked so hard and just the mindset
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: that I worked so hard to finally get back to.
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: And everybody in my corner is just, they lift me up.
• 54:48
  Speaker 1: don't ask me to be anything but myself. And I
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: just think that's so special. And yeah, I just feel
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: very lucky.
• 54:55
  Speaker 4: I also really appreciate that about you because I know
• 54:58
  Speaker 4: that also extends to the brands that you work with.
• 55:02
  Speaker 3: I was scrolling on threads today.
• 55:04
  Speaker 4: And aside from being a millennial party, because everyone is
• 55:07
  Speaker 4: celebrating what is going on in our country at the moment.
• 55:11
  Speaker 4: I was seeing some threads that were questioning why Jess
• 55:16
  Speaker 4: McLean doesn't have more sponsors.
• 55:19
  Speaker 3: Why doesn't Jess McLean have more.
• 55:21
  Speaker 2: Sponsors, Jess McLean? Well, you should definitely talk to her.
• 55:25
  Speaker 3: Why don't you tell her?
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: Sounds like her agent sucks.
• 55:30
  Speaker 2: I represent myself.
• 55:32
  Speaker 3: She's like, I am my agent. I, uh, no, I,
• 55:36
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: I think it's, um, it is a lot like, Every
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: contract that you sign, it's like, oh, you have to
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: do two appearances a year and post XYZ on social
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: this many times a month. And that all adds up.
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: And I am somebody that... I love social media when
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: it feels organic. And I have so much fun with
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: my content when it just hits me and I'm like,
• 55:58
  Speaker 1: I'll post that. I'm not somebody that wants to have
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: a brand post to think about every other day of
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: the week. I.
• 56:07
  Speaker 2: And plus I just, I don't know.
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: I just really love working with like, for example, X endurance, they, um,
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: are based here in Arizona and they, they sponsored me
• 56:18
  Speaker 1: back in like 2020 while I was honestly like not
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: even racing.
• 56:23
  Speaker 2: And I just, I moved back to Arizona.
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: I was making obviously no money in running and they,
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: they threw me like a small contract, but it was
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: something that just showed me they believed in me and,
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: and supported me. And, um, Yeah, it's people like that
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: that are just really good people, really great brands. Obviously,
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: there's some in mind that I would love to work
• 56:45
  Speaker 1: with and more so like branching out a little bit,
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: like not so much like the wearable tech, you know,
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: like running focus brands.
• 56:54
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I don't know. We'll see. I.
• 56:59
  Speaker 3: What I'm hearing you.
• 57:00
  Speaker 4: Say, Jess, is that we need some beauty brands. We
• 57:02
  Speaker 4: need some, we need a jewelry sponsor. Like it's a
• 57:05
  Speaker 4: very least year.
• 57:06
  Speaker 2: Please.
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I want to channel, like, I love, so like,
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: I just think track is so fun to watch. Like
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: the red carpet approach that we have now with like Athlos.
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: And I, it's just so cool to see like luxury
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: meeting track and field. And I, I don't know. Yeah.
• 57:23
  Speaker 2: I love, like the street wear and I love all
• 57:26
  Speaker 2: of that. And, um, like that would be a dream.
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: That would be so cool, but I'm not running to
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: like get brand deals. I mean, it's a, it's a
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: bonus for sure.
• 57:34
  Speaker 2: And it's so cool.
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: And it's a very like fortunate part of a race
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: going well. But for me, it's like, I, I don't know,
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: like maybe some things changed after Sunday, but not a
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: whole lot. And I still going to work and I'm
• 57:48
  Speaker 1: still going to be me. And like, but that's all
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: of that is very, very cool. So Obviously need a
• 57:56
  Speaker 1: dog training sponsor.
• 57:57
  Speaker 2: I'm just kidding.
• 57:59
  Speaker 3: I mean, yeah, right. Please train my dogs.
• 58:02
  Speaker 4: I will say that the Brooks Lifestyle Collection, the street
• 58:06
  Speaker 4: collections lately are fire.
• 58:08
  Speaker 3: My Adrenalines are like one of my favorite shoes.
• 58:10
  Speaker 2: The shoes are so fun and so good. They just
• 58:13
  Speaker 2: dropped like Christmas shoes too, like holiday shoes. I know.
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: I only knew it because it hit my, I got
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: like the, you know, email marketing for it.
• 58:23
  Speaker 3: You're like, am I in this email? Am I, am
• 58:25
  Speaker 3: I going to open it? And my face is going
• 58:26
  Speaker 3: to be here?
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: But no, Brooks has like, from the time I was
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: first with them, 2015 to 2018, like, oh my God,
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: the apparel and the footwear has just gotten so good.
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: And like, I'm just so proud to wear like Brooks
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: product on the street and, you know, like walking around
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: the hotel at world majors and just in life and, Uh,
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: it's so cool. It's so cool to see like the,
• 58:49
  Speaker 1: the running space doing what it's doing, like across brands. Like, honestly, I,
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: I think as competitive as brands are with one another,
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: like you have to celebrate the cool stuff going down. Um,
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: like for example, Saucony, like I, and Vanessa is one
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: of my best friends, but just like the George smile
• 59:07
  Speaker 1: that I, like, there were just so many cool activations
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: and pop-ups and, and things happening in New York. And
• 59:12
  Speaker 1: that's like, that's so cool that we're like running is
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: thinking this big and making it so fun for everybody. Um,
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: that's there participating, whether you're like one of the 61,000
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: people running or the thousands of people coming to watch.
• 59:25
  Speaker 2: It's just, yeah, I'm all, I'm here for it. All
• 59:28
  Speaker 2: of it.
• 59:29
  Speaker 4: So as we wind down here, Jess, you mentioned that
• 59:33
  Speaker 4: big number, 61,000 people finished plus the New York City
• 59:37
  Speaker 4: Marathon this year, the largest marathon in history. So many
• 59:42
  Speaker 4: of them inspired to... keep running, keep lacing up. And
• 59:46
  Speaker 4: then those people inspiring other people to do the exact
• 59:50
  Speaker 4: same thing. So if you have the opportunity to give
• 59:54
  Speaker 4: one piece of advice to someone that wants to take
• 59:57
  Speaker 4: on their first marathon in the coming year, what do
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 4: you tell them?
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: Oh man, I would say, honestly, there's, there's nothing more
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: inspiring in my, I mean, I'm sure, you know, I
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: could get lit up in comments with like, isn't this
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: inspiring and this and that, but like for me, marathoning
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: is so it's, it's so inspiring and it's being an elite.
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 1: I think I commented on like some random cute girls,
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 1: tick tock that, you know, you just see all of
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: the cool scenes happening like behind you in the waves.
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: And I commented and I'm like, it's so cool being
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: a professional in the field and like an elite upfront,
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: but we miss so much of the magic happening. So
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 1: I like, one of my favorite things to do after
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: a marathon, no matter how it goes is like sit,
• 1:00:45
  Speaker 1: like after my shower, I just sit in bed and
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 1: I scroll and I just like see everything that's unfolding.
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: And I think it's exactly what you said. We actually
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: had in our tech meeting, I can't remember if it
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 1: was Sam or, oh gosh, I think it was the
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 1: meat director himself said something like the elites are like
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 1: the first wave of people that are inspiring, like the
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: millions of people watching. And for me, it's, it's, it's,
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 1: the people it's the 61,000 people behind me that are
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 1: inspiring me. So I just, I just think it's like,
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 1: take a chance on yourself, do something hard. Um, whatever
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: your arena is, it's like, be excited to step into
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: it and don't be scared to fail. I think there's,
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 1: there's so much that can be learned from failing. And
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 1: I think it's so cool to try and so cool
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: to care about something super deeply. So if, if becoming
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: a marathoner is something that's on your list, it's like,
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: just try, just try to do it. you're a marathoner
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: no matter how long it takes you to get to
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 1: the finish line. And if you do do it, like
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: be sure to soak part of it in because I
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: think that's one part of the race we all get
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 1: very excited for is like that moment where we're like,
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: you know, all the nerves and adrenaline is kind of,
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 1: it's come down a little bit and you can look
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: up and just soak it in.
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 2: And yeah, it's just enjoy the ride and the journey,
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 2: I would say.
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 3: Enjoy the ride and the journey.
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 4: I do have to say, I have never seen someone's
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 4: name more on social media than your name in the
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 4: hours following the marathon and been so confused on how
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 4: does Jess have the time right now to be literally
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 4: the first comment on at least 100 to 200 different videos.
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 2: I'm full scrolling right now.
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 1: I'm in full scroll mode between work calls and it's,
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 2: It's just so fun. I love it. I love it.
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 4: I was just like, when did Jess comment? Every video
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 4: when I got to it, you had already been there.
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 2: I'm living online. She's not sleeping. Her sleep is so bad.
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 1: No.
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 4: Girl, I appreciate you so much. I am truly so
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 4: inspired by you as a woman that covers the sport,
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 4: but as your friend, I think I've said this before
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 4: and I forget who I was chatting with, but like,
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 4: from just like who you are in your essence. When
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 4: I like got my eggs frozen, you were like one
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 4: of the first people to text me and you're just
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 4: such a, well-intentioned, good human who deserves every good thing
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 4: that comes to you. And I am so happy to
• 1:03:18
  Speaker 4: be one of the people that just is following along
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 4: for the ride.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 3: So thank you.
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 2: Oh my God. No, thank you.
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 1: And drink drinks on me the next time we meet
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 1: up because I didn't make it happen before New York.
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 2: So we'll make up for it soon, but thank you
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 2: so much for having me on.
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 4: I know this feels a little, um, sad that we're
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 4: not actually like our Boston recap pod.
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 2: I know. drinking.
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 3: We'll make up for it, but this was the best
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 3: way to.
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 2: End a work day. You're awesome. And thank you for awesome.
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 3: Jess.
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 4: Um, I think everyone that's listening to this is following
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 4: along with you already, but just in case, if they're
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 4: a new Jess McLean fan, how do they keep up
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 4: with you?
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 3: Where do they find you on the socials?
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 2: Oh goodness.
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 1: I'm just at Jess ton J E S S T
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: O N N on Instagram. I just, I kept that,
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 1: kept that OG handle.
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 2: So that's where you can find me.
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 4: I'm over at Emily Abadi and at Hurdle Podcast. Another
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 4: hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time.